Swearing-in of death row convict Premalal Jayasekara questioned in Parliament by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that Articles 89 and 91 of the constitution have been breached by allowing death row convict Premalal Jayasekera to be sworn in as a member of parliament. He pointed out that former Speaker Bakeer Marker had set a precedent on the matter by disallowing a previous candidate elected to parliament after he was convicted of an offence. The Speaker responded to this statement by saying that the action was taken based on the decision of court of appeal. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena requested the speaker to remove this debate from the Hanzard.